Huskies are going to be the next Staffs, aren't they?

[MartyrStewart]

I hope I am wrong.

I have noticed a LOT of people recently with young husky dogs. I have got a feeling that this time next year the rescues will be full of them once they reach adolescence and the twunts that bought them as status dogs realise they are actually bloody hard work.

[ItsonlymeMrsDB]

toboldly

Oh my word, my heart's pounding reading your story !

It is utter terror, isn't it ?

My girl was the 'good' one too. But once she sniffed the wind, she was off !

I'm not even going to go into the 'life on a lead' as you clearly know it well.

I just hope that the advice that is offered is taken with the well-meaning it is offered by.

[ItsonlymeMrsDB]

Mango

No licence needed for a husky, no.

[minipie]

to be fair to my sis, I think she has done her research on the breed, checked out the breeder, etc. She is very interested in that side of things and it won't be just a fashion or looks based choice.

I think she's just overestimating what she can manage all at once, and also the extent to which these dogs can be trained.

[GetOrfMo1Land]

Thanks toboldly - I missed that link earlier.

That trip down the ravine must have been terrifiying - you must have felt like sewaring when you saw her, she saw you, and she still pissed off.

[ItsonlymeMrsDB]

Well, that's good.

Maybe have a chat and see if she can be persuaded to put it off for a while, if she really is 'set' ?

[DogsBestFriend]

WRT the OP I think that Huskys are becoming the fashionable choice, along with Doodles and Spaniels/Spaniel crosses, the latter of which seem to be the middle class mum's preferred pup atm and certainly like the other 2 mentioned I'm seeing more Sibes and Sibe Xs entering rescue. I'm also seeing that they are hard to home.

BUT the reasons for this are imho different. The SBT is often rejected because of press hysteria and word of mouth ignorance that they are dangerous and not safe with kids. Sibes tend to end up in rescue because they are too hard to handle and stay there for that reason too... and, the good rescues are VERY picky about who they will rehome such a demanding dog to. Where that rescue is a no kill one the dog is safe... where it is not, the outcome for the dog is euthanasia. SHWA, for example, will not take an aggressive Sibe and if they end up with one which they discover to be aggressive, I recently discovered, they will generally kill as they feel that they don't have the facilities to rehabilitate. Thank christ that the all breed rescue for whom I'm a volunteer has no such kill policy with any of it's dogs... but it is a rare one.

SBTs suffer the problem of being in rescue in huge numbers too... it's sort of a case of "there are so many of them there must be something wrong with them or else they'd all get homes, so I don't want one of those" theory. Thankfully the SH number hasn't reached that proportion... yet.

Two other factors are these - that the SH generally enters rescue from an owner who can't cope or who have kids later on etc, ime, and not via the pound. Thus they escape that stigma of "they're all pound strays and they have no history so they are dangerous" because the public so often aren't aware that regardless of a dog's origin a decent rescue will thoroughly assess the dog before rehoming. We don't just take the old owner's word for it as they can lie, it's not uncommon, so the surrendered dog AND the pound dog both get a thorough, ongoing assessment in reputable rescue... but you try telling the public that!

Also the SBT is by far more the hard man's dog, and of course lumped in with Pits, cos of course they are ALL "dangerous" - thank god the law on banned breeds looks likely to be changed soon, but too late for so many dead Pits and dogs which allegedly merely look like Pits and too late too for the poor Staffie, who carries the Pit's cross along with them. The Sibe's haven't yet got to that stage either.

So, although I think that they are the next fashionable dog along with Doodles and Spaniel types and although I think that they are at far greater risk of rejection by inexperienced owners, numpties and rescues which won't take them as they are so hard to home, I still feel that the SBT is much more maligned and that there are differences in how the two breeds are perceived and treated.

[toboldlygo]

"That trip down the ravine must have been terrifiying - you must have felt like sewaring when you saw her, she saw you, and she still pissed off. "

Oh I did, at great volume and with some creativity. I was literally dripping with blood at that point, I'd flung myself through brambles and allsorts!

When I got home I just stood in the kitchen and burst into tears, had the shakes and everything, it could have gone so wrong. My neighbour down the road lost her five year old husky in similar circumstances except he ran a lot further and got run over. :(

[ItsonlymeMrsDB]

That's what scared me silly, toboldlygo.

If the guy who caught my girl hadn't, that was the next stop for her, a main road.

Even though she's no longer here, it makes me shudder to think about it.

[RedwingWinter]

DBF, there's a lot of sense in your post. And huskies have the advantage that people will fall in love with them for their looks. I think SH welfare groups have a balance to tread between making sure people are informed about the characteristics of the breed, without putting everyone off.

[misdee]

recently on the doglost site iirc, there was a husky that went missing on a walk. he bolted like previous posters have described. sadly he was hit by a train before he was found.

[MrsZoidberg]

Can I ask advice of you husky sorts?

Until now we have had a two acre field which we husky proofed (twice as the first time she proved us wrong!). Due to annoying circumstances we are having to move, and whilst we will have a large garden, it will be no where big enough for my girl, so I'm going to have to start walking her.

The few times we go outside of our field, I have her on a harness with a seperate lead on her collar as she can slip either / both. But I'm not confident that she won't out wit me when lead walking becomes a regular thing and I get a bit more complacent. The harness is a pets at home one which is fine for the GSDs as they are obedient

So the query is, what harness can I use on her that she can't escape from? She's very sleek (hence the belief that the cross is with lurcher) and there doesn't seem to be any lumps or bumps to stop a harness slipping off when she yanks and twists on the end of the lead.

Our new walk will be along a river with quite steep banks. DH & DS are already taking bets on how long it will be before she pulls me in

[ItsonlymeMrsDB]

When you say harness, do you mean a 'nose' harness or a 'body' harness ?

My girl was quite sleek too, but we also have quite a big lad, and they both had/have body harnesses, that go over the head, around the shoulders, and do up around their middle ? The middle bit also 'loops' through one leg, to do up around the middle. (Oh help, I am making it sound more complicated than it is !) The lead then clips to the link on the harness. I think we got ours from PAH, but I am talking over 10 years ago...having said that, we have never had one of ours slip off, or have a lead come undone, or anything. We use/used flexi leads with ours, and apart from a bit of pulling, which you expect, we have never had a problem with them coming off-lead. In fact, it's never occurred to me to worry about them getting free.

The body harnesses obviously come in different sizes, and can be adjusted.

Try : //www.petsathome.com/shop/red-nylon-dog-harness-by-pets-at-home-48125

There is also one called a control harness.

Esentially, you control from the body, not the neck. Much better for you, and husky !

I think they come in loads of colours too, not just red or black !

[toboldlygo]

If she's a seasoned harness escapee I don't think there's any she won't manage to get out of! I use Manmat shoulder harnesses, for what it's worth, and they are excellent but they would still wriggle out of them if they wanted to.

One solution would be to use a double-ended police style lead, one end on the harness, one end on a semi-slip collar. The other would be to clip a neck line from the harness to a semi slip or slip collar so that if it does slip it, she's still attached by the collar. :)

[RedwingWinter]

I walk mine on a collar and a leash just like any other dog. I started with a martingale but now he's on a regular collar; and I started with a regular leash and now use a flexi one (a decent flexi one though not one of those thin ones). He learnt to walk nicely on the leash very quickly.

[toboldlygo]

And yes, again for what it's worth for 'formal' walks about town mine wear plain collars and leads and walk on a slack lead. Harnesses are used for cross-country walks on flexi/long line/bungee lead on waist belt where they are allowed to pull. :)

[MrsZoidberg]

Itsonlyme Sorry I should have been more specific. I'm after a body harness. I think the one we have is the same as yours, from the picture. She actually walks quite well on a lead, until she sees a rabbit

toboldlygo She slips her collar on a frequent basis - mostly when DH has her . She hasn't yet managed to get her harness fully off, but once, at the vets, she got very close and scared me so badly that I want to solve the problem now before its an issue. The vet always uses a nylon slip lead thingy with her but I would be scared of hurting her with one of these if she suddenly yanked.

Is that the solution? Do I find a collar she can't escape from but rely on the harness for the main control?

Off to google Manmat

[DogsBestFriend]

Crikey, I think I'd stick to the GSDs! :o

[ItsonlymeMrsDB]

It's OK !

The only thing I can suggest, is maybe take her to PAH, and try a few on ? I would imagine maybe if she is very sleek, they are all a bit loose ?

I never walk mine without the harness, but we do have short(er) 'rope-style' leads for walking through town. I just think it's kinder to them.

Thinking aloud, really....I'm not keen but if she is an escape artist, maybe a Halti ?

[toboldlygo]

If you have a look on my profile there's a pic of the two dogs together - white spotty dog is wearng a Manmat harness and a Sprenger long-link choke collar, connected by a neck line. I was warned that he was a harness-slipper, hence the precaution, but he never has so I don't need to bother any more. :)

A semi-slip collar is pretty hard to slip, it's what they use on racing dogs - again, Manmat do these, or a soft slip collar by Tuffstuff. :)

[ItsonlymeMrsDB]

Awwww, beautiful huskies toboldlygo

[DogsBestFriend]

Something taught to me by rescue for those with dogs they are still training not to pull is to wear a longish lead across the body as you would a messenger handbag or satchel, then to clip the dog's lead to that. Of course you still hold the lead as normal but it gives you security if the dog might pull you over as you have your whole bodyweight preventing them from doing so AND, for the better behaved dog, it gives you two hands free so you have the opportunity to dig out a poo bag/mobile/whatever from your pocket without having to worry about losing your dog in the process.

[DogsBestFriend]

*Pah! Not CLIP the dog's lead to the across the body lead, you slip the lead which you then attach to the dog through the across body one using a slip knot.

Oh gawd, I know what I mean really!

[toboldlygo]

Or you could just use a waist belt designed for the purpose.

[DogsBestFriend]

You CAN?

Never heard or seen such a thing in 47 years! Honest!

Please can you give an example so I can stop looking like the local village idiot?

[ItsonlymeMrsDB]

//www.sassdogequipment.co.uk/dog-walking-belt/

Here you are, DBF

You can even get multi dog walking belts !